A look ahead into 2010 – DS Edition

Last year was a very strong year for the DS, particularly for first-party titles. The 2010 release calendar may lack the swagger of heavyweight properties like last years Zelda and Mario RPG releases, but there is still plenty to be excited about.

This year’s line-up includes games that may lack the broad appeal of last year’s title, but will seemingly cater for hardcore fans of adventure and RPG games. 2010’s RPG rich offering will include games from fan-favourites Dragon Quest, Pokemon and the Ace Attorney series. Whilst we reckon the Wii will have one of its strongest years yet, there will certainly be enough to keep DS owners happy (and broke) for the next 12 months. Those fortunate DSi owners out there can also get hyped for some pretty good stuff heading to DSiWare, showing that the download-only service will continue to grow and establish itself as an excellent venue for original games.

The year will also give us a new piece of DSi hardware in the form of the DSi XL – a large-bodied variant of the DSi designed for the benefit of the elderly and visually impaired. The new DSi offers no new features other than an enlarged set of screens that will blow-up the visuals significantly. A release date for the new DSi can’t be too far away, with a March-April bracket looking likely for Australia.

In typical Nintendo fashion, most of the year’s releases lack solid release dates, so we’ll look at what games we can expect soon in the first half of the year, before having a gander at those titles more likely to release later on but hopefully in time for Christmas.

Sooner (January to June)

Okamiden
A surprise sequel, but one that is sure to satisfy those who played and loved the console original. The under-sold Okami would never warrant a full-budgeted console sequel from Capcom, but we aren’t complaining too much as the DS stylus controls will be the perfect means to initiate ‘paintbrush’ attacks with the Celestial Brush. It’s a new protagonist this time- with Chibiterasu this time taking the lead from his predecessor Amaterasu. Not a lot is know about the relationship between the two celestial wolves, but we can look forward to a deep and engrossing story in what is likely to be one of the best DS games of 2010. Chibiterasu’s adorable little face will likely help this game sell by the truck load, despite the deep and mature content of the game.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth

The latest spin-off from the Phoenix Wright series has gumboot detective Miles Edgeworth this time taking the centre stage. Edgeworth will be a lot more investigative in nature than his colleague Phoenix, with an emphasis on analyzing crime scenes for clues in order to solve cases, rather than commanding the court room. Whilst the courtroom is still there, Edgeworth’s success will hinge upon how well he makes use of the evidence and interview with witnesses to logically lead him to a conclusion. The Phoenix Wright games are dripping with character and Edgeworth’s first performance in the spotlight is guaranteed to maintain the pedigree we’ve come to expect from Capcom. We’re looking at a February release in Australia.

3D Picross

HAL Laboratories’ new puzzle game for DS will evolve the original Picross concept into the third dimension, offering a simple but compelling style of gameplay that makes these kind of games so addictive. The game will build upon the 2D painting of Picross by this time getting players to chip away at a mass of cubes to reveal a hidden three dimensional object. The game is already out in Japan where it was a massive hit and we can’t wait to get our mitts on it when it’s available here with a February release date looking likely.

WarioWare D.I.Y.

The WarioWare formula will be taken to the next level, this time letting players design, create and share their own levels. The ‘microgames’ typical of WarioWare games will be opened up to allow the player to draw and use their own sprites and use the DS’s microphone to record sound for use in their creations. WarioWare DIY looks to be Nintendo’s best effort at supporting user-created content on the DS, and they will be providing their own range of levels to download and play. The game released early last year in Japan, and we’re expecting a local release to follow shortly after the North American date of March 28.

Infinite Space

Platinum Games’ collaboration with Japanese studio Nudemaker looks like an absolute treat. The combination of an RPG sci-fi adventure with a deep customization mode for the player’s starship grabbed my attention instantly and the character and vehicle design is outstanding. There is a detailed universe to explore and a complex and involving storyline to tie it all together.

The game looks to be another solid entry in Platinum’s ever-experimental catalogue of games and a very solid first outing for them on the DS. Infinite Space might not have the pulling power of other high-profile DS titles, but will likely be one of the best RPG’s of 2010 on any system. We’re still waiting on a release date, but this will be an absolute must-play game for sci-fi fans.

Pokemon Heart Gold & Soul Silver

News just in- Pokemon equals money. These two remakes of what fans claim to be the best pair of Pokemon games to ever grace a handheld are guaranteed to bring in the cash for Nintendo. The core game is essentially the same (aren’t all Pokemon games?) with an updated visual style, crisper sound design, and integration of the touch screen. The games will allow owners of Diamond, Pearl and Platinum to import Pokemon from HeartGold and SoulSilver, providing possibly the most comprehensive array of Pokemon in a game to date. We’re looking at around a March-April release and won’t be surprised if we see the two games dominate sales charts for the majority of the year.

Dragon Quest IX
The Dragon Quest series is one of Square-Enix’s biggest cash cows and it came as a shock to many that the latest entry would be a DS-exclusive and not a console venture. DQIX will be the first mainline game in the series for DS that isn’t a port and will make some marked changes to the typical Dragon Quest formula. Random battles have been almost completely eliminated, and it will have a strongly multiplayer-focused. The game sold like crazy in Japan, with Square-Enix hoping that the new plot and presentation will make the game more palatable to western gamers when it releases around mid-year.

Glory of Heracles

Even though the title is simply ‘Glory of Heracles’, this is in fact the fifth entry in the GoH series, and the first to be released outside of Japan. The game is nearly two years old in Japan, where it carries the subtitle ‘Proof of the Soul’. The original Heracles games date way back to the NES and SNES, so even though is the first we’ll see of the series in Australia, there isn’t exactly a rich storied background that we’re missing out on. We’ll have to wait to mid year before seeing whether this RPG is original enough to stand out on its own.

Later (July to December)

Shantae – Risky’s Revenge

Way Forward Technologies’ cult classic has been re-awakened with a DSiWare sequel. ‘Shantae – Risky’s Revenge’ will be an episodic series of downloadable titles that will have the titular characters jumping and dancing her way into player’s hearts when the first episode launches here in a few months.

The game features the cheerful and lively character design of Mark Bozon, who was also responsible for the look of the recent Mighty Flip Champs – one of the best games currently available on DSiWare. We’re very lucky to finally get some more Shantae action, as Way Forward never sold as many copies of the original as they would have liked and the game almost disappeared into obscurity.

Golden Sun DS

The biggest piece of news for DS dropped at E3 was the unexpected announcement of a third Golden Sun to be made for DS. A first-party RPG from Nintendo, the Golden Sun series has a devout following that were ecstatic at the prospect of once again returning to the world of Weyard, this time as the descendants of the characters from the original two Game Boy Advance games.

Developer Camelot Studios have adopted a mix of 2D sprites over a 3D gameworld to craft a visual style that is unique but faithful to the Golden Sun universe. No date is set yet, but we think a pre-Christmas release is more than likely for what is shaping up to be Nintendo’s best first-party offering for 2010.

Last Window: Midnight Promise

The sequel to Hotel Dusk: Room 215 will follow Kyle Hyde’s wanderings in the new setting of a Los Angeles apartment block. The mystery game will only loosely reference the events of the first and will involve more of Kyle’s family and personal life. The first game wasn’t the most accessible piece of software for the DS, but those who didn’t mind the game’s story-book approach to gaming found a rewarding if somewhat obscure adventure. Japan will get the game soon later this month, leading us to believe that Last Window might sneak in at a late 2010 date in western territories.

Ghost Trick

The latest mystery adventure game from Ace Attorney creator Shu Takumi. Unlike the Phoenix Wright games, Ghost Trick will be a lot darker in tone, given that the main character has been murdered and must unravel the mystery surrounding his death. The main character has a limited influence on the world around him, and is able to manipulate and use objects in certain situations via the DS’s stylus controls- hence the title. Takumi’s writing helped make the Ace Attorney the classic that it is and we look forward to a western translation of Ghost Trick to be at least mentioned before year’s end.

Happy Gaming!

The DS brand has been around for over five years now and shows no signs of slowing. The year ahead has a nice range of diverse titles, with plenty of RPG’s and a slew of new franchises. It is encouraging to see developers and publishers take bigger risks with more experimental types of games on the DS than what we’re seeing on consoles and hope that the gamble pays off with some fun and inventive new games.

Most of the titles covered will release early in the year, unlike 2009’s bombardment of great games like Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box and Zelda Spirit Tracks all releasing late in the year. If anything, that may be a sign that there is more in store for DS owners later in the year that we are yet to hear about. Regardless, there is plenty to look forward to already and 2010 is shaping up to be yet another healthy year for the DS.